By Ayush Srivastava

The Australian striker, in a letter to the Honorary Secretary of the IFA, expressed his willingness to take part in a dialogue, but laid down a few conditions for the same...

In a further twist to the Tolgay Ozbey and East Bengal saga, the Australian has agreed to meet the officials of his former club, to resolve all disputes between the two parties.

However the striker made it clear to Utpal Ganguly, the Honourary Secretary of the Indian Football Association (IFA), the state football association of West Bengal, in a letter, a copy of which was received by Goal.com, that such a meeting could only take place at a venue away from the East Bengal premises, and more importantly, in Ganguly’s presence, without whom he would not meet the club officials.

Ozbey has expressed hope that all outstanding issues with the Red and Gold can be solved and also requested that talks are held only after 10th July, since he is presently in foreign shores, away on a holiday.

This marks the latest episode in the dispute between the Australian and his former employees, which started after Ozbey switched sides and signed for East Bengal’s arch rivals Mohun Bagan, shortly after helping the Red and Gold in sealing the local league title.

This led to a volley of accusations between the club and the player, with East Bengal stating that the player’s deal with the Mariners was illegal, as he had already signed a “voucher” for next season with the Calcutta Football League champions, and duly slapped him with a show cause notice, for signing with another club when under contract with them.

Ozbey in turn claimed that he was being harassed by his former club, as his contract had expired on May 14th, before he signed up with Mohun Bagan. He also alleged that the club still owed money to his agent and had “forcibly” tried to credit money into his account, in order to defame him.

The matter thus ended up with the IFA, with the player stating that he hoped the federation would solve the matter in a “fair”manner, else he would be forced to knock on the doors of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), as well as FIFA.

How do you stay up to date with football when on the move? Withhttp://m.goal.com– your best source for mobile coverage of the beautiful game.